Life of Being a Crown Prince in France

Chapter 1112: Chapter 1018: Reform Led by France

Berlin.

City Palace.

After the Silesian War ended, William III moved here to reside. Sanssouci Palace always seemed to remind him of his father’s foolishness and degeneration in his later years, and of that harlot Wilhelmina.

In the hall, Scharnhorst, wearing the newly awarded Blue Max Medal, was explaining his military reform ideas to William III. He had earned this highest military decoration in Prussia by urgently mobilizing 40,000 troops for Prussia through the “Universal Conscription System” during the Silesian War, thus stabilizing the Glogau Defense Line. The famous Iron Cross Medal would appear only nearly twenty years later.

“Your Majesty, many of France’s experiences are worth our careful study,” Scharnhorst said. “For example, allowing civilians to be promoted to officers and strictly examining aristocratic officers. This involves the military academy I mentioned to you last time…”

He carefully glanced at the King as he spoke.

William III, unlike his incompetent father, was an ambitious young man. Having experienced consecutive defeats by France and Austria, he realized that Prussia must undergo a significant transformation.

He nodded to Scharnhorst to continue, “I am listening, please continue.”

The young staff officer repeated the idea of establishing a three-tiered military academy modeled after France and the officer evaluation system, then said, “Your Majesty, the new military academy system will surely train numerous excellent officers for our country, just like France.”

William III nodded, “I’ll leave the expansion of the military academy to you. I’ll have Prince Henry assist you in preparing the funds.”

“Thank you for your trust, Your Majesty,” Scharnhorst bowed but added, “However, handling this alone may lead to oversights.”

“Who do you wish to recommend?”

Scharnhorst hastily answered, “Not a person, Your Majesty, but an organization for managing the army.

“You know, France established the General Staff system several years ago, which includes numerous professional staff officers who manage everything meticulously, from recruitment to training and logistics preparation to operational planning.

“This is a very advanced mechanism, and we should also establish our own General Staff as soon as possible.”

If Joseph were here, he might feel a little embarrassed, as his General Staff system was largely inspired by Scharnhorst’s theories in later generations.

But now it was the Prussians learning from France.

William III had read Scharnhorst’s report before and nodded promptly, “Then you should start preparing for the General Staff, and let the subordinate departments handle matters like the military academy and officer evaluation.

“Hmm, you shall be the first Chief of Staff.”

Prince Henry, standing by, reminded, “Your Majesty, he is currently only a Lieutenant Colonel.”

He meant that such a low rank could not assume such an important position.

William III decisively said, “From now on, he is a Quasi-General.”

Scharnhorst looked both surprised and moved, pressing his hand to his chest in salute, “Your Majesty, I will not disappoint you. I will bring you the mightiest Prussian Army in Europe!”

William III smiled, “I trust you can do it.”

Subsequently, Scharnhorst explained to the King more specific reform details such as “replicating and mass-producing the new caplock guns,” “learning from France’s army organization,” and “building the Sharp Signal Towers across the country.”

It was close to twilight when he finally left the Royal Palace, still filled with thoughts.

In his vision, as long as his military reform plan was carried out, within a few years the Prussian Army, with a brand new military system, caplock guns, and new tactics, would sweep through Germany, up to the moment of a peak confrontation with the French Army.

However, he didn’t know that in distant Paris, the Crown Prince of France had long begun a new round of military reforms.

These “most advanced” military concepts and equipment he pinned his hopes on were already obsolete for the French Army.

If, in a few years, the two armies were to confront each other, it would certainly not be any “peak showdown,” but still a technological gap crushing…

In the room on the second floor of the City Palace, William III looked at the vast and desolate street in the distance and couldn’t help but sigh.

He was well aware that he had taken over a country that was teetering after consecutive defeats.

Having lost a significant part of Silesian land, the financial situation was on the brink of collapse—if it weren’t for the 700,000 British Pounds “sugar prepayment” from England, even the government’s officials’ salaries might not have been payable.

There was a knock on the door from behind, and his attendant announced, “Your Majesty, Baron Stein and Baron Hardenberg are here.”

The two entered the room and bowed to William III.

They currently served as the Prime Minister and Finance Minister of Prussia, respectively.

Yes, William III didn’t neglect Stein because of his past cooperation with Wilhelmina; instead, he let him continue as Prime Minister.

Because he knew that Stein was a capable person. Moreover, sometimes a political stain could be a good thing, motivating someone to work harder to prove themselves.

William III nodded at the two men, “Baron Stein, I have read your report.

“I believe abolishing guilds, lifting restrictions on factory establishment, and tax reforms can all be gradually implemented.

“However, might abolishing serfdom provoke opposition from the nobles?”

Stein hurried a step forward, “Your Majesty, the French have proven that as long as the buyout system is used, it won’t have too much impact on the nobles.”

The Finance Minister quickly added, “Baron Stein, France established the ’Royal Fund’ to subsidize the nobles. However, our finances cannot allocate such a large sum of money.”

Stein nodded, speaking solemnly, “We can increase the redemption fees from the serfs to compensate the nobles for their losses.

“For instance, setting the redemption period at 25 years.”

He referred to 25 years as the sum of land rent and labor service fees multiplied by 25.

William III pondered, “This may still not be enough…”

Baron Stein, seemingly prepared, immediately said, “Then stipulate that the serfs must cede one-third of the redeemed land to their masters…”

…

Vienna.

The street was packed from side to side, with everyone craning their necks to look towards the end of the road.

When the emblem of Archduke Karl appeared in people’s line of sight, the entire street erupted in thunderous cheers.

The slight gain in Silesia had made the people forget the defeats on the Rhine River and in Italy.

In Mei Quan Palace Square, Kobutsel stood slightly to the rear of Franz II, yet his face bore no hint of joy.

Victory had masked all problems, leading His Imperial Majesty to reject his reform proposals twice — it seemed that…

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